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CHANTILLY, Va. — NASA's most traveled spacecraft, the space
shuttle Discovery, is set to become a museum artifact today when
it rolls into the Smithsonian.

Discovery, which
flew atop a jumbo jet from Florida to Virginia's Dulles
International Airport Tuesday (April 17), is due to be towed the
short way to the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum's
Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center here this morning (April 19).

The Smithsonian is planning a big "Welcome Discovery" celebration
open to the public today to usher in the retired shuttle. Those
who come out for the festivities will also be treated to the rare
sight of two orbiters facing each other nose-to-nose. The
ceremony begins at 11 a.m. EDT (1500 GMT) and will be broadcast
live on NASA TV.

Enterprise is due to be rolled out of its hangar early Thursday,
then park for a photo-op with Discovery when it rolls in. Later
in the afternoon, Discovery will be wheeled the rest of the way
into the hangar to take up the position Enterprise has vacated.

In addition to catching sight of the two shuttles, visitors to
Udvar-Hazy today will find a wealth of space-related activities,
including astronaut presentations, hands-on robotics games, solar
telescopes to look through, and a make-your-own mission patch
station. Visitors can also sign a real space shuttle tire and a
banner to welcome Discovery.

Space agency officials will be on hand to discuss
what's next for NASA, including the next big rocket in the
works and the plan to use commercial spaceships to travel to the
International Space Station.

Discovery was one of three space shuttles NASA retired last
year. The orbiter flew 39 missions, more than any other shuttle
in history, including the trip to deploy the Hubble Space
Telescope and the first "return to flight" mission after the
Columbia disaster.

"As part of the Smithsonian collection, Discovery will bring a
richer perspective to the historical and scientific significance
of the space-shuttle program, one of our country's greatest
achievements," Wayne Clough, secretary of the Smithsonian, said
in a statement.

The museum is making a special push to bring students and
families in to see the space-flown orbiter. Friday (April 20)
will be designated as "Student Discovery Day," while Saturday and
Sunday (April 21 and 22) will be the "Welcome Discovery Family
Weekend." The special activities will run throughout the weekend.

"At the Udvar-Hazy Center, Discovery will be seen by millions of
people in the coming years, especially children, who will become
the next generation of scientists, engineers, researchers and
explorers," said Gen. J.R. "Jack" Dailey, director of the Air and
Space Museum.

The Smithsonian's Udvar-Hazy Center and the Air and Space Museum
building on the Mall in Washington, D.C. are free and open to the
public. To watch Discovery's welcome ceremony live today on
NASA's NASA TV webcast, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/nasatv/index.html

You can follow SPACE.com assistant managing editor Clara
Moskowitz on Twitter @ClaraMoskowitz.
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